The five millionth passenger to use the services of high-speed trains arrived at the central railway station in Kiev on 3 February. The passenger arrived on the Intercity+ train No. 739 Krivoy Rog-Kiev (a route served by Ukrainian-made Tarpan high-speed trains).
The Ukrainian High-Speed Rail Company's Director Leonid Loboiko told a news briefing that the company carried a record number of passengers – 234,000 – in in December 2014 and 223,600 in January 2015. "We plan to continue maintaining this level in 2015," said Loboiko.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kava also attended the news briefing. He said that high-speed trains appeared on Ukrainian railways more than three years ago and they are transporting more passengers every year.
Kava added that the Tarpan train, which brought to the five millionth passenger to Kiev, would undergo tests at speeds of 200 km/h this year. "We hope that we will be able to obtain a certificate for the speed of this electric train to 200km/h this year. It will be a great impetus for the domestic engineering industry," said the deputy minister.
As reported, the Ukrainian High-Speed Rail Company, which is controlled by the State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia), currently operates 12 trains – 10 Korean-made Hyundai trains and two Tarpan trains manufactured by the Kryukov Railcar Building Works. The Ukrainian High-Speed Rail Company's trains operate in the most expensive passenger transport segment, Intercity+. Their services are currently available in 11 cities in Ukraine with a total population of more than 2.7 million people.
